The Mind and the Heart

 The Mind

Mind is the kingly thing in the human system; the most critical and a very delicate instrument.

Mind is NOT our enemy. Mind makes or mars our life. It is to be handled very carefully and very delicately.

One should have a friendly attitude towards one's own Mind. Then Mind will listen to us, we can master it over a period of time and practice.

Mind includes Mind, Intellect, Ego and Consciousness.

Like eyes see, ears hear, tongue tastes, nose smells, Mind thinks; Thinking is the function of Mind.

Consciousness is like the sky in which Mind Intellect and Ego are embedded like planets in the sky. Therefore change in Mind, Intellect and Ego effects a change in the Consciousness.

Intellect's function is to discriminate. It is Not our enemy too.

Ego is there to implement what is decided by the Intellect. So Ego is also not our enemy when tamed. Ego is very useful to compete with one's own self.

But all these subtle bodies are to purified and thus refined. This is possible ONLY through Meditation.

As our life revolves around these subtle bodies, and also determines what we are, there comes the need to refine to refine our Consciousness.

Thus regulating, purifying and refining the Mind is critical to all if one wants to be better and better in the real sense.

Where does the Mind reside? It is spread all over the body; it is not an organ. It is intangible. All subtle bodies are intangible and invisible.

There are two ends of the Mind - one is Intellect and the other is the Heart; It is a spectrum with Intellect and Heart as two extreme ends.

 

The Heart

The Heart is a very sacred part of our being. Because it is where the Divine resides, one can feel through Meditation.

There is a physical heart, an organ that beats untiringly without rest lub-dub, lub-dub. When this heart stops everything stops.  This physical heart is from where the impure blood is purified through lungs and supplies to all nooks and corners of the body to continue its existence.

There is a Spiritual heart where one has his/her experiences. The Experience is related to the heart. It is the Centre of our Existence. It is also the seat of emotions. Our life is guided by the feelings that we have in heart and the inspirations captured through them. This heart is also the Centre of our Individual Consciousness.

Incidentally or as per cosmic plan perhaps, the spiritual heart is also at the centre where the physical heart beats.

The path that follows the Heart-centered Meditation is Heartfulness. We shall explore it later.

The heart is the compass of our life. It always guides in the only direction that we must proceed in life. And the heart's actions are spontaneous unlike actions through mind. Unfortunately for whatever reasons, human being has moved away from following the heart and so the stress and misery in and around us. The solution is to go back to heart and follow it. Heart never misguides. It pops up every time we do something wrong.

Moving away from heart is walking into darkness of stress at all levels. Make a U-turn and walk into the Light of pure awareness by following it.

But it is NOT easy because we have come too far, and the heart is unfortunately clouded or shrouded by so much unnecessary stuff that it appears to be polluted.

So the need to pay attention on our heart, clean the heart, pray from the heart, live with our heart slowly by practising Meditation with this orientation.

Let us remember that we can never avoid heart nor we can avoid God.